Highlights:

Stretching by itself, decreased acute inflammation in vivo.

Ex vivo stretching of connective tissue reduced neutrophil migration within the tissue, a central aspect of the acute inflammatory response.

Finally, we show that stretching increases tissue specialized pro-resolvin mediators (SPMs) both in vivo and in vitro, demonstrating a mechanical direct effect of stretching on inflammation resolution molecules within the connective tissue.

These results reveal important new interactions between musculoskeletal and immune systems that could potentially be used therapeutically.